Frequently, program objects, such as Java™ Beans defined by Sun Microsystems, Inc., include a set of configurable properties (Java and all Java-based trademarks are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States, other countries, or both). To this extent, it is desirable to generate a user interface to enable a user to specify one or more of the configurable properties of a Java Bean. In order to generate the user interface, the configurable properties can be introspected from the Java Bean. Further, the configurable properties can be read from a file that includes information about the Java Bean.
For example, the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) defines a J2EE Connector Architecture (CA) that includes a Resource Adapter. A J2EE CA Resource Adapter exposes an object to administration and development tools by specifying various information in a resource adapter deployment descriptor file (ra.xml). This file includes information on each configurable property, which is specified as name/type/value tuples. In this case, an administration and development tool can use the ra.xml file and/or the object to discover the corresponding configurable properties. These configurable properties are then included in a generic user interface that is presented to a user.
In view of the foregoing, there exists a need in the art to overcome one or more of the deficiencies indicated herein and/or one or more other deficiencies not expressly discussed herein.